Life and Style on Two Wheels

baby, it’s cold outside

November 2, 2010

Baby, it’s getting cold outside! My morning commutes are slowly morphing into winter rides. The leaves on the trees are no longer gloriously red and orange and yellow, but are starting to brown and fall to the ground. The air is chilly and the sun is dimmer. It’s still dark out when my alarm clock sounds and it just gets light as I peddle furiously to campus. Gloves and a hat have become a must-have. I’m not sure that I’m ready for what this means… the beginning of winter cycling. This year will mark my first attempt at winter bike commuting and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t just a tad bit apprehensive about it.

Once I arrived to my office though, I had a more imminent problem to address than the impending frost and gloom of winter – I forgot my bike lock at home. Thank God for a private office and elevators. Especially elevators. When dealing with an all-steel bicycle, stairs are not the preferred method of transportation. But a quick elevator ride later, Fiona and I were all snuggled in and ready for a day of work.

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Ah, I’ve been curious how your commute will be once the winter sets in. Do you plan to bundle up in warm gruddy clothes and then change once you arrive to campus? And also curious if you’ve thought of paneers for winter/wet riding or if you simply prefer the baskets. Cheers! And I commend you for sticking with the bike commute. Not easy.

Sassy Molassy – I’m not sure how it will keep evolving, I think I will just see as it goes. For now, I’m sticking with my basket because it’s been working so far (although panniers would be nice). I know that I won’t want to change completely at work, I will probably find ways to dress as I would and then just add a bunch of layers on top (which I can then remove and keep in my office). I’ll be sure to show my system once I have one in place!

I’ve found that i actually dress just slightly lighter riding a bike than I would just to go out walking in the winter, as i usually get a little warmer from the effort of riding. I think making sure your hands, head and feet are warm makes the biggest difference, and then just having at least a couple of layers on to keep your body warm.

I have to say, it can be pretty fun to get caught in a surprise snowstorm and arrive home covered in snow, strip off all the layers, and sit down to a hot mug of cider or coffee or tea. The days of heavy rain…. Well, you just get through them the best you can, knowing you’re going to get a little wet no matter what. The benefit is, i don’t even notice light rain anymore :)

I agree with Dave’s tips above. There should be no need to change once you get to work during winter, only to strip down quite a bit. Usually I take off all my regular accessories (coat, gloves, scarf, earmuffs) plus winter boots, a couple extra pair of socks and maybe wool leggings from under my skirt, if wool tights are not sufficient for the weather.

Dokichan – that’s awful, sorry! :) So, I’m not proud of this – but I once buy one, used it for the afternoon, and returned it afterwards. I was too far from home to turn around for mine and I only did it one time. But I was just so reluctant to have the mistake cost me $20 because we already own a bunch of bike locks.

What a cute little office, S! And a window, you lucky lecturer, you. Nice to see you at the coffee shop a few weeks ago. We should meet up for a beverage sometime soon. It is always nice to get some cross-pollination of disciplines and I would love to hear how the semester is going teaching-wise.
Cheers!